Almost all commercial embroidery operations now use multi-head automatic embroidery machines. Such machines have the potential to greatly increase operator productivity. However, difficulties remain in supplying hooped workpieces at a rate sufficient to allow the embroidery machines to be operated continuously and, therefore, at maximum efficiency. This problem is largely caused by the fact that the hooping of workpieces has, until now, been a slow, relatively painstaking and almost entirely manual operation.
The difficulties with the manual hooping operation may broadly be considered as two-fold; firstly in correctly positioning and orientating the hoop relative to the workpiece and, secondly, in mounting the workpiece between the male and female portions of the keyed embroidery hoop.
The problems with correct positioning and orientation of a hoop relative to a workpiece are fully detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,127, which also discloses, in an attempt to overcome these problems, a positioning system for locating a keyed embroidery hoop on a workpiece, including a hoop mounting plate; a hoop recess in the mounting plate for receiving a keyed hoop; a centre line on the plate; and a plurality of parallel gauge lines for positioning a workpiece on the plate relative to the hoop recess.
The system of the above noted U.S. Pat. No. is not fully successful in overcoming the problems discussed on a number of counts. For example, the position of the hoop recess 14 (hoop holder) relative to the hoop mounting plate 12 (workpiece holder) is largely fixed, or at least movement is disclosed as being only possible in one direction and even then only in the discreet steps using a spacer 90. Moreover, while registration members 26, 30 and 28, together with recess 20, assist in ensuring correct orientation of a workpiece relative to the hoop 16 truely accurate positioning and orientation is not possible because with, for example, a sweat shirt or the like on the system 10 none of the aligning mechanisms are visible to enable final and fine adjustment.
In locking of the workpiece between the male and female portions of the keyed embroidery hoop the principle problem is that it can be quite a physical task, and while it is possible to use the ball of each hand to force the two portions together, more often than not the operation is effected using the tips of the fingers. This places considerable stresses on the fingers and, especially if many workpieces are hooped in a continuous fashion, repetitive strain injuries can occur. Other problems can arise in the form of the positioned workpieces slipping or gathering as the two hoop portions are pressed together.
It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus that at least partially overcomes one or more of the above noted problems or difficulties.